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We've just set a two-year deadline to start a RTW trip with our kids. It's hard knowing we want to go but reminding ourselves that we need to take our time to plan and get the money and trip details right before we go (especially when you're cutting back to save for the trip). This post reinforces that we've taken the right path - cool!
wandermoms last blog post..planning family ski trips
If you plan to travel for a year or longer, sell your computers, sell your car, sell your TV, sell your house. You will be happy to have that extra money on your trip and if you get back, you do not care anymore that you sold it.
@Marco: I absolutely agree. Sell it all! I have to admit I have a case of wine and 17 boxes of books in my Mum's garage, but everything else went. We're going to be back in NZ in 6-9 months and I think we'll ensure everything is sold when we leave for South America.
Gillians last blog post..South America Itinerary
Nomadic Matts last blog post..Seven Things to Do in Iceland (Why You Should Go Right Now!)
The first sentence is both depressing and inspiring at the same time!
Keeping life simple (and non-materialistic) is the best tip to save certainly, and it is something I am trying to concentrate on particularly at the moment.
Chriss last blog post..Anti-Procrastination
Also, “Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing is gonna be all right.” Well said!
Ericas last blog post..NZ, It’s Not Just About Mountains and Rings
MikeCs last blog post..Live off of Nachos For a Month… Or Two
We are into our third year of world travel as a family, living large on 25K a year in total expenses, so have become experts from the "family RTW experience" which is quite different than as a single or couple. I don't know of any other families doing it as long as we have.
Hostels are not as good a deal for families, so we rarely stay at them, although we enjoyed the last one we stayed at in Norway on the fjords gabbing with Koreans and Indian new friends in the sauna and eating an all organic meal!
We actually lived for much less in a luxurious ocean view villa in Spain than a family of friends who were in SE Asia in hostels and small hotels on their world year tour in fairly primitive places. We did do an overnight in the Sahara and have been on 4 continents, but for the most part, if you are traveling with a young child, you won't risk in the same way as adults might.
It is very important to look at what your housing market is doing and the future trend, ( along with what you owe and rental markets) in making that decision before take off. We made the right choice to sell our home in Ca at peak, but the family from the famous book "A year off" and even sixintheworld, made very big errors in this area, by not looking ahead. The first one should have kept their house, the second should have sold before take off, both lost quite a bit by not researching the reality.
The smartest thing we did while planning was to learn much about financial and currency markets. Things looked very boom in 2005, but we are certainly thrilled that we sold then and mostly got out of the dollar. Keep those types of things in mind when making a plan! Even more important in today economy and remember selling a house today will be extremely different than it was in 2005.
Soultravelers3s last blog post..The Traveling Office!
Right now I'm having fun convincing my parents to keep my unused (but needed at some point in the future!) stuff in their garage...
In the interests of your own safety, though. before you decide that you're just going to go off and teach English around the world, take a look at the market and educate yourself.
Most schools will not hire you illegally, unless they also plan to do such things as not pay you, keep your passport, or threaten to report you to immigration if you should decide to quit. Asian countries have long work visa processing times - 4-6 months for public schools in Korea.
There are plenty of agencies out there that can help you get a legitimate job. Are there people who successfully bilk the system and work illegally? Sure. Do you want to risk a few years in a South Korean prison until your family pays back all the money that you were paid to work under the table? Hmm... not so sure about that. Would you like to find yourself looking down the barrel of a gun in Indonesia while the friendly policeman asks you to hand over your shoes and your passport? Nope. Didn't think so either.
Will you be able to find volunteer jobs? Yes. Just don't count on being able to fling about as an ESL teacher, unless you have credentials, a job, and the right to work in your country of choice...
As to V's comments, I agree whole-heartedly. Quality schools won't employ untrained people; and who wants to work at a bad school?! That's why I'm recommending training before you go. Any native English speaker with a degree can do a one month Trinity TESOL or CELTA course and become qualified.
As for working illegally; that's right. I never recommend people work illegally and certainly don't here. Unless you're American, there are plentiful work and travel visas available in many desirable countries. For those that can't get W&T visas, working permits do take time. That's why I'm recommending taking the time to plan.
<abbr>Craig´s last blog post..Become a vagabond master</abbr>
Traveling doesn't have to be expensive. I would like to add an advice for the travelers who want to save money on flight and accommodation:
The search engine Momondo.com is a very usefull tool when looking for a cheap hotel and flight.
Instead of booking a hotel through an angent directly, you should compare their prices. Many agents offer the exact same hotel room, but at different prices. Momondo compares 30 agents (around 300.000 hotels/hostels) and redirects you to the provider’s site to make the booking.
When it comes to hotels, Momondo includes 550 airline and travel sites when searching for the best offer. So this webpage gives you an overview which is needed today with the travel market's endless offers.
I hope you'll find it usefull, www.momondo.com